The clouds parted in north Toronto just after 9am and I
basked in the morning sunshine from the 12th floor of my building as
I drank my coffee and wondered how the traffic would be, where we would park
and whether or not I should wear my huge arctic parka. We had tried one night
game a few years ago – an 8.15pm start – which got me home just before 3am. Little did I know that despite last night’s
game kicking off almost two hours earlier than a regular night game, thanks to
inexplicably and unbearably slow egress from the stadium parking lot and heavy
traffic up to and including the Canada Customs line-up and the Peace bridge, I would
arrive home once again at the aforesaid time of 3am.
A bit more on yesterday’s (and this morning’s) travel
details: It was a tale of two driving trips. The drive to Queenston, the US
border line-up and the rest of the drive to the stadium parking lot was clear
and uneventful, even once we began to see the towering snow banks south of
Buffalo and into Orchard Park. We were parked and ready to begin our seven-hour
outdoor winter adventure shortly after the stadium parking lots opened four
hours before kick-off. A couple of drinks, a good barbecue and smooth entry
into the stadium brought us to our seats a full hour before kick-off. This allowed
ample time to watch the Chiefs players’ wives gather, greet each other and
mingle around in their fancy coats and boots during the warm-ups. The guy who
sits next to me arrived a little later, sporting a photo of the back of Taylor
Swift on her way in to the stadium a few minutes earlier. After the game, as one
parking lot attendant commented, it was “the worst night ever”. He had heard
that an ambulance had tried or was trying to access the area and that was apparently
part of the reason why we moved about 10 metres in 75 minutes before actually
starting to leave the stadium parking lot. As we sat wondering about the cause
of the delay, Mike Schopp and the Bulldog on WGR waxed on about Wide Right 2.0
and whatever else had gone wrong with the game.
The elevated level of excitement and anticipation around this
game was palpable as kick-off approached. Bills mafia were ready to finally slay
the Chiefs dragon – the playoff version at least – in their house. But of
course it wasn’t to be. A few key dropped passes on deep balls, the evaporation
of the running game in the second half and a missed game-tying 44 yard field goal
were certainly valid contributors to the crushing loss but, in my view, it was
the inability of the Bills depleted defence to stop Patrick Mahomes, Travis
Kelce and Isiah Pacheco which cost the Bills the game. Even if Tyler Bass had
made the kick and tied the game at 27, it seemed highly likely to me that the
Chiefs, with 104 seconds on the game clock and two time-outs still at their
disposal, would have easily been able to drive far enough for Harrison Butker
to kick the Chiefs into the AFC Championship Game anyway. But he missed the
kick wide right and the Chiefs needed only one more first down to seal the game.
Despite the profound disappointment of another playoff loss
to Kansas City – the third one in four years – and the salary cap and roster issues
which General Manager Brandon Beane will be faced with starting this morning,
optimism will continue to abound around the Bills and their fans as the
off-season finally leads to the start of training camp in the late July heat. 2024
will be Josh Allen’s 7th season as the Bills quarterback. He is clearly
one of the best players in the league and he will continue to be as he is
arguably only now entering the prime years of his career. Primarily for this
reason, I will clean my barbecue grill and pack away my Bills gear not with a
heavy heart but with anticipation of another successful Bills season to come. The
injury pendulum may swing back in 2024; Dalton Kincaid could begin to earn the
label as the NFL’s new Travis Kelce; James Cook might continue his journey to becoming
one of the league’s offensive stars. I am confident that with a few luckier bounces
here and there, a key fake punt play that actually works, a healthy defence and
the continued and unwavering support of Bills fans, the team can easily surpass
what they accomplished this season. That’s what being a real fan is all about –
even on this gloomy sleep-deprived Monday morning.
The NFL season now only has three games remaining. The
Chiefs go to Baltimore as 3.5 point underdogs. I’ll be cheering them on. As I watched Kansas City’s star players up
close last night and the commanding presence of Andy Reid lumbering (and
slightly limping) around the sidelines, delivering short messages from time to
time to certain players, gave me new respect for him and program he has built
in Kansas City. He is rumoured to be contemplating retirement after this season
and I would find it pleasing if he were to win another championship before he
walks away. And maybe shoot some new State Farm commercials for the Superbowl.
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